“I wonder if Her Majesty can wait,” Charlotte couldn’t believe she was saying such a disrespectful thing, “until early evening. By then Rare Confectionery will have our usual highest-quality chocolate-smothered toffee.” Or they would lose the favor of the palace, and her mother’s disappointment would be crushing.
“What time shall I return?” the footman asked.
Grateful that the man was willing to go along with her idea, she was just calculating how long it would take to make a good batch when the shop bell tinkled and Beatrice strolled in. Charlotte sagged with relief, sending a thank you up to Heaven. Bea would still need time to cook and cool the toffee, then to melt the chocolate so it was pourable, and it, too, would need time to set. They would have to stay open late.
“About six o’clock,” she said, if they started immediately.
“Very good, miss. I’ll be back then.”
“I am terribly sorry for the inconvenience.”
He gave a shallow bow and left.
“What’s going on?” Beatrice asked.
Charlotte took a breath. “We have a few issues with some of our confectionery,” she began, not wanting to hurt Edward’s feelings, but this couldn’t happen again.If that toffee had gone to the palace!Charlotte shuddered to think.
“I don’t understand,” Edward said.
“Taste it,” Charlotte told him.
His eyes wide, he took a piece from the display tray and ate it. Looking crestfallen, his gaze went from Charlotte to Beatrice.
“Is it burnt?” Bea asked.
“Yes,” Charlotte told her. “And some of the chocolates don’t have the right flavoring or none at all. Now that you’re here, you can make the toffee for the palace and extra, of course, and I’ll work on the chocolates.”
Beatrice didn’t jump to it as Charlotte had hoped. Instead, she hesitated.
“Is something wrong?”
Bea opened her mouth, but the bell tinkled and a customer entered.
“Edward, remove all the toffee from the display, and quickly.”
“What about the chocolates?” he asked.
“No, leave them. I have to have something to sell.” She looked at Bea who was frowning. “Please, Bea, get started.”
Her older sister sighed and went into the back room while Charlotte served the customers. Inspiration struck as soon as she considered how to sell the mysterious chocolates.
“May I help you?” she asked, praying they wanted marzipan, which they were woefully low on, too.
“I would like two of the marzipan pears,” one of the women said. “And some of the raspberry chocolates.”
Charlotte packaged up the pears and tried out her plan. “We have a little fun going on in the shop today. The chocolates are half price today, and they are all mixed up, so you won’t know exactly what you’re getting. Like a sweet surprise for your mouth.”
At first the woman blinked, seeming about to protest.
“Half off?” repeated her friend. “That’s an excellent deal. Every chocolate I’ve ever had from here has been delicious, so how can one go wrong? I’ll take a pound.”
Charlotte hoped to recoup some of her loss. “Would you like a pretty tin? They can be used for other things later, like holding gloves or hatpins. Small ones are thruppence, bigger ones are a tanner.”
“Oh, no, thank you. If these were a gift, I might, but they’re just for my family.”
Charlotte nodded, weighed out a pound of assorted chocolates, and poured the measuring bowl from the scale into a white bag, before tying the top with a blue ribbon, just the way her mother liked.
“Well, I still want the raspberry chocolates,” came the other woman’s voice.
